I have spent my career answering calls in Oceanside, and I want to respond to the recent coverage of Measure S.
A story by inewsource, “Sales hike eyed for crumbling Oceanside pier, other needs,” quoted people who said they felt blindsided. I understand that. Nobody enjoys hearing the word “tax.” But the firefighters I work with have watched this bill come due for years, and voting it down will not make it go away.
Our streets have a pavement condition index of 61, with 28% rated poor or very poor, amid a $1 million annual funding shortfall. The pier bridge and lifeguard headquarters are $50 million short. A new Fire Station 8 — a project that is ready to build — would replace the leased building where we operate today, and it is $35 million short.
Yes, we have a stake in that one. So does every resident who drives these roads, walks the pier or calls 911.
Regarding the numbers people are asking about: Groceries, prescription medicine and medical equipment are exempt. A city-commissioned analysis by BW Research in 2018, cited in the council staff report, estimated the cost to a median household at about $67 a year, or roughly $5.61 a month.
The report also found that 63% of the city’s sales tax is paid by nonresidents, tourists and businesses — not local households. An 8.75% sales tax rate is the same as the rates already paid in Chula Vista, Escondido, San Marcos, Imperial Beach, Solana Beach, Lemon Grove, Del Mar and National City.
Measure S sunsets after 10 years. It requires annual independent audits and a citizens’ oversight committee, both of which are written into the ordinance. If the city misuses the money, you will see it, and the tax will end automatically after 10 years.
I am asking my neighbors to vote yes on Measure S.
Matt Clark is the president of the Oceanside Firefighters Association.
